Department of Biology, Howell Science Complex, East Carolina University, 1000 E. 5th Street, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA.
College of Fisheries, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China.
Sci Rep. 2021 Apr 20;11(1):8545. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-88024-x.
Adamts9 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with a thrombospondin type 1 motif, member 9) is one of a few metalloproteinases structurally conserved from C. elegans to humans and is indispensable in germ cell migration in invertebrates. However, adamts9's roles in germ cell migration in vertebrates has not been examined. In the present study, we found zygotic expression of adamts9 started around the germ ring stage and reached peak levels at 3 days post fertilization (dpf) in zebrafish. The migration of primordial germ cells (PGC) was completed within 24 hours (h) in wildtype siblings, while a delay in PGC migration was found at 15 and 24-h post-fertilization (hpf) in the Adamts9 knockout (KO). However, the delayed PGC migration in Adamts9 KO disappeared at 48 hpf. Our study suggests a conserved function of Adamts9 in germ cell migration among invertebrates and vertebrates. In addition, our results also suggest that Adamts9 is not essential for germ cell migration as reported in C. elegans, possibly due to expansion of Adamts family members and compensatory roles from other metalloproteinases in vertebrates. Further studies are required in order to elucidate the functions and mechanisms of metalloproteinases in germ cell migration and gonad formation in vertebrates.
Adamts9（解整合素和金属蛋白酶与血小板反应蛋白 1 型基序，成员 9）是从线虫到人结构上保守的少数几种金属蛋白酶之一，在无脊椎动物的生殖细胞迁移中是不可或缺的。然而，adamts9 在脊椎动物生殖细胞迁移中的作用尚未被研究。在本研究中，我们发现斑马鱼中 adamts9 的合子表达始于原肠胚期，在受精后 3 天（dpf）达到峰值。在野生型兄弟姐妹中，原始生殖细胞（PGC）的迁移在 24 小时（h）内完成，而在 Adamts9 敲除（KO）中，在受精后 15 和 24 小时（hpf）时发现 PGC 迁移延迟。然而，Adamts9 KO 中的延迟 PGC 迁移在 48 hpf 时消失。我们的研究表明 Adamts9 在无脊椎动物和脊椎动物的生殖细胞迁移中具有保守的功能。此外，我们的结果还表明，adamts9 对于生殖细胞迁移不是必需的，这与线虫中的报道不同，可能是由于脊椎动物中 adamts 家族成员的扩张和其他金属蛋白酶的补偿作用。为了阐明金属蛋白酶在脊椎动物生殖细胞迁移和性腺形成中的功能和机制，还需要进一步的研究。
